Customer Reviews

Indus-Tool TT Toasty Toes Ergonomic Heated Footrest

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Easy to set up & use, and it keeps feet nice & warm. I give it 4 instead of 5 stars because (a) it's made of hard plastic that's a bit uncomfortable after a while on bare or stocking feet, and (b) it's a bit overpriced. It's just a piece of injection-molded plastic with a small heating element... should be more like $40. It has 3 heat settings: off, foot-warmer, and radiant-panel. Haven't tried the panel setting, but the foot-warmer setting is nice. Would be better if there were more of a range of settings (foot-warm-low, foot-warm-high), and for the price I'd kinda expect this. A good feature is the angled base: when sitting in a chair and stretching your feet out to it, the angle is comfortable on the ankles. I put mine on a plug-in timer: no need to consume 90 watts 24/7, I only run it from 2PM to midnight. In summary, despite the omission of a few minor features and being slightly pricey, I'm glad I got it and I would recommend it to anyone looking to end cold feet under their desk.

This heated footrest isn't the best there could be, but it's pretty much all there is. There are very few of these sorts of products on the market, which surprises me because it's such a simple and practical solution to the cold feet issue. Plus giving you a good foot-rest for those who work in office chairs all day.

As stated by others, there are only two settings. My 'low-for-feet' setting only worked once. I turned it to high after I decided that the low setting, after being on for almost an hour, became that exact temperature of the bath tub water which is still warm enough to sit in, but it's become just cool enough that you really want to turn on the hot water and try to warm it up. Not satisfactory. Also, it warmed ONLY the soles of my feet. Top, back, sides, ankles all remained cold.

So I flipped it to high setting, and I think mine was defective because the red 'on' light began to randomly switch between high and low setting. I thought this was the 'safety switch' feature which is supposed to cool the thing down before it overheats. It got really, really hot to the touch after this. Not hot enough to instantly burn, but hot enough that I could not put my feet directly onto the plastic. I solved the issue by folding up a towel and putting it on top, and putting my feet on the towel.

Still, tops of my feet got cold so I put a second towel over the tops of my feet and that worked ok. Not ideal.

I tried turning it back to the low setting, but it remained just as hot. Now whether I turn it to the high or low setting, both of them get pretty hot... either my TT is defective and stuck in 'high' mode, or the foot-rest setting is also a little too hot. I'm too lazy to return it, since I figured out a solution that works great for me.

I solved the issue of the just-a-bit-too-hot temperature by using a pair of Herbal Concepts Hot/Cold Comfort Booties. I wear the booties when I am using the TT footrest. The bean-bag in the bottom of the booties diffuses the intense heat from the foot rest so it's comfortable, and the foot rest keeps the bean-bag warm all day so I don't have to make a lot of trips to the microwave. Works great together! Plus, I needed to wear something on the tops and backs of my feet (more than just socks) or they stayed cold, while the bottom of my foot roasted. (I actually got burned spots on the bottoms of my feet from resting them too long in one place, but the tops of my feet were still cold.)

Now the booties keep top and back of feet warm, and if my feet get too warm, I can take the booties off of the foot rest for a while, let the bean-bag bottoms cool down a touch, then put them back on to heat up again. I also put my shoulder-wrap bean bag thing (similar to this: Herbal Concepts Organic Cotton Herbal Fan Shoulder Wrap - Natural) onto the TT foot rest for a while, until it got nice and warm, then I put that on my shoulders and I'm warm top and bottom!

Otherwise, there is no way the TT foot rest could be used as a real radiant heat panel. On high setting, it ALMOST gets too hot for your SKIN to be touching it for very long, but you have to be within literally an inch of the panel to feel much heat coming off of it. If you were more than a couple of inches away from it, I can't imagine even the most sensitive person could feel anything. It's made to be touched, I think they just threw in the 'heat panel' thing as an advertising gimmick. The way the legs work and everything, it's not really meant to stand up on its edge like that. They just cheaped out, and didn't know what to do about the super hot setting, so they called it a 'radiant heat panel.' Uh-huh.

Last quibble; the feet for this thing are cheapo plastic shaped like a half of a tire, and attach (if you can call it that) to the big, flat plastic heat panel top by two little knobs that slide in a cheap plastic slot cut into the 'arch' of the tire shape. So the thing can slide through the slot forward (toward you), so it's angled, or it can slide back (away from you), so it's flat. Because nothing is really attached, this made the foot rest feel very flimsy to me at first, and I didn't like how it shifts and wiggled when I move my feet. I felt as if ANY amount of pressure on this thing (like if you accidentally stepped on it, God forbid) might break the legs right off, because looking at that slot, it's not very thick plastic or very strong at all, and neither are the knobs on the underside of the heat panel.

Seeing as this is a kind of stool, I think it's impractical to have made it with feet that aren't really strong enough to be stepped on. Sure, it's only a 'foot rest' and supposed to carry no weight, but whatever. Stuff happens. Hopefully not to me, this was too expensive to keep replacing it.

However, after a few days I got to kind of like the way it 'rolls' back and forth, because it's a way to kind of semi-stretch, by rolling your ankles forward and the whole thing slides on the knobs and goes flat, then rolling them back toward you and it goes angled again. Kind of like ankle exercise. I guess.

The cheap-o plastic basket weave on top is obnoxious. They gave it a really rough texture obviously trying to compensate for the fact that they were too cheap to give it a rubber mat on top. Even with the super rough texture, it's still too slick for shoes to stay put, especially women's slick-sole shoes. Even my leather slippers slid off the top of this thing. Very, very slick plastic. Needs a rubber mat.

So in conclusion, with some creativity it does the job, gets plenty warm enough when you use large slippers or booties or towels or shoes with thick rubber soles or SOMETHING to insulate your feet from the foot rest itself. But for sixty bucks (and that's better than the eighty it is supposed to be sold at) I really would have expected 1) more variety of heat settings, 2) a rubber top so your shoes don't keep slipping off, 3) more sturdy legs attached better than a little knob in a plastic slot which looks breakable, and 4) if it's going to be advertised as a radiant heat panel, it should actually be able to perform this function.

I'm going to use this as long as it lasts, and hope something better comes on the market for when I need to replace it.

I love this foot warmer!!! I've had it for a few weeks now. I replaced my space heater at work with this foot warmer and I couldn't be happier. I always have cold feet and ankles. The space heater just makes my upper legs too hot and my feet were still cold. This is the perfect solution!! I usually have it set at the highest setting - I love that when I get up to walk away my shoes hold the heat for a few minutes.

I want to order another one for my computer desk at home. I wish it was cheaper. $60+ is a little high.

Edited to Add:
I got the second one at home. I LOVE it. Things this product could do to improve. (1) Offer a lower setting so it can be used with bare or socked feet. It's a little too toasty directly against the skin. (2) Put a remote switch on the cord that could be placed up on the desk. It isn't easy crawling under the desk to turn it off/on. The little switch is NOT manipulatable with your toes - trust me, I've tried and tried.

However, this is still an AMAZING product and I highly recommend to any who suffer from cold feet like I do.

This heated footrest has saved me from the horror of frozen toes. It's made of sturdy plastic and the lower of the two settings provides more than enough warmth. The only downside is that it's easy to leave switched on and turning it on and off involves some grovelling around under the desk. Happily both these problems are solved by adding a Intermatic TB121C Digital Tabletop Lamp and Appliance Timer which both allows you to set a couple of daily "off" times (so the footrest is never left on for more than a few hours) and also provides a desktop on/off switch.

I should have bought one of these 4 years ago. I tend to spend much of my free time at my computer(especially in the winter). I used to wrap my feet in blankets, although that is more energy efficient than this it would take so long for them to warm up. With Toasty Toes I turned it on and within a few minuets I have warm feet, and about 15 mins later they are really warm. I wear a size 11.5US shoe(mens) and my feet this with about 1 inch to spare. If your feet are bigger than mine there is plenty of room on the sides to angle your feet so they do fit; heck right now I'm warming my feet and drying off my shoes that got wet in the rain today. If you are really cheap you could turn your heat way down and sit across from your roommate and both of you could share one of these.
The only con. The plastic doesn't feel super thick so I'm going to return the hammer I bought for putting this through a durability test.
Buy it.

My home office is in a walkout basement. The concrete floor is very cold and this puts the heat on my feet, and not the whole room. My only issue is the hot spots, the heat is not evenly distributed across the unit.

I bought two of these, one for my wife, one for me. My wife uses hers mostly for the stand-up heater. I read all the reviews before I bought. The assembly of the two legs was easy and the directions very clear. I read the reviews about it being "cheap plastic". I don't know how "cheap" it is, but yes it is plastic. We don't jump on them or abuse them...so far, no problems. What might be construed as a problem is the amount of heat it puts out. Well duh, you bought a heater!
After a while, it does get too hot for my bare feet, so I put a towel on it. If it is still too warm, I turn it off for a while. Am I getting too logical? Doesn't have a thermostat or remote control...it's a heater, not a computer. Would the extras be nice, sure, but then the price would have to go up. Would I recommend this, definitely.

I got this to keep my feet warm in my office. It only has two settings (low and high). The low setting is too hot to be able to put your feet on it, even with socks and slippers on. I've tried wearing shoes on it and while it makes it more bearable I end up with sweaty feet. Based on other reviews it appears that the Low/High settings are not consistent. Some people complain it's too hot and others that it's too cold. It doesn't feel like a sturdy piece of equipment, the price is definitely too high for the quality you get especially with the inconsistent heating.

I have stopped using mine for now but I may switch to using it as a panel on High without putting my feet on it.

I love this product. I put it under my desk at work. I always put my socks on this footrest to get more heating effect, no shoes on. The heat is perfect for me since I always feel cold all the time. What I really like the most is no noice and no hot air that makes my eyes dry. On top of that, the electric usage is not as bad as a regular space heater. Bottom line, I like it and recommend it to my co-workers to get this product. I am thinking to buy another one for my home office. :)

This footrest is fine for the price. I don't like to wear my shoes at my desk, but the footrest is too warm for bare, stockinged or socked feet. So I put a lightweight towel over it, doesn't get that hot, but I still don't leave it on when I head for bed. My cat absolutely adores this thing, he wouldn't lay on it without the towel (of course, he's a hairless sphynx, but even my extra fluffy russian siberian couldn't take this thing on sans towel)... well, now he is curled up between my feet on top of the towel all the time, so I got two foot heaters for the price of one. The towel also adds a level of comfort that is completely missing otherwise, this is a hard plastic platform without it. I know they now offer a hi/low switch, but I'll skip it since the towel is perfect and makes it more cushy and my cat loves it. Overall, a fairly good value, I'd buy it again, I'd recommend it to a friend looking in the same price range, it's definitely toasty up to the ankles with the towel, excluding the cat!